Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide an erbium-ytterbium co-doped few-mode fiber amplifier, which is used for solving the problem that the gain effect of a few-mode erbium-doped amplifier in the prior art is poor.
In order to solve the technical problem, the invention provides an erbium-ytterbium co-doped multimode fiber amplifier which sequentially comprises a light source laser, a first mode multiplexer, a pumping beam combining unit, an erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber, a cladding light stripper and a second mode multiplexer along the optical communication direction; the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber sequentially comprises a fiber core, an inner cladding and an outer cladding from inside to outside, erbium ions and ytterbium ions are co-doped in the fiber core, the refractive index of the fiber core is gradually increased from inside to outside on a section perpendicular to the axis of the fiber core, and the refractive indexes of the inner cladding and the outer cladding are smaller than the maximum value of the refractive index of the fiber core.
Preferably, the pumping beam combining unit comprises a pumping laser, a pumping energy transmission optical fiber and a pumping beam combiner, and the pumping laser is in communication connection with the pumping beam combiner through the pumping energy transmission optical fiber; and the output end of the pumping beam combiner is in communication connection with the input end of the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber.
Preferably, the signal light generated by the light source laser and the pump light generated by the pump laser are coupled through a pump beam combiner and synchronously injected into the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber for signal gain; the signal light generated by the light source laser is injected into the fiber core, and the pump light generated by the pump laser is injected into the inner cladding.
Preferably, the first mode multiplexer is provided with a plurality of input ports with different modes; the light source laser outputs single-mode signal light, and the single-mode signal light is respectively injected into a plurality of input ports of the first mode multiplexer and then converted into signal light in different modes.
Preferably, the cladding light stripper is used for filtering out the pump light which is not completely absorbed by the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber, and outputting the gain light after the signal gain.
Preferably, the second mode multiplexer is provided with a plurality of output ports with different modes; the gain light is transmitted to the second mode multiplexer for mode demodulation, and demodulated signals in different modes are output by a plurality of output ports of the second mode multiplexer after demodulation.
Preferably, the erbium-ytterbium co-doped multimode fiber amplifier further comprises a first multimode isolator and a second multimode isolator; the input end of the first few-mode isolator is in communication connection with the output end of the first mode multiplexer, and the output end of the first few-mode isolator is in communication connection with the input end of the pump beam combiner; the input end of the second few-mode isolator is in communication connection with the output end of the cladding light stripper, and the output end of the second few-mode isolator is in communication connection with the input end of the second mode multiplexer.
Preferably, the light source laser generates signal light having a wavelength in the C band.
Preferably, the inner cladding has an octagonal configuration in a cross-section perpendicular to the core axis.
Preferably, the refractive index of the erbium-ytterbium co-doped multimode fiber is distributed in an M shape along a section perpendicular to the axis of the core, the refractive index of the core is kept constant after linearly increasing from inside to outside, and the maximum values of the refractive indexes of the inner cladding and the outer cladding are smaller than the maximum value of the refractive index of the core.
Further preferably, the minimum value of the refractive index of the core is n 0 +k n *(n 1 -n 0 ) Wherein n is 0 、n 1 Representing the highest point of the cladding refractive index and the highest point of the core refractive index, K n Representing the degree of core index depression, and K n The range of (A) is 0.7 to 0.9; the radius of the depressed region of refractive index of the core is KrR core Wherein R is core Representing the core radius, K r Representing the fraction of depressed index regions of the core over the entire core, and K r The range of (1) is 0.3 to 0.6.
The invention has the beneficial effects that: compared with the prior art, the erbium-ytterbium co-doped multimode fiber amplifier provided by the invention has the advantages that on one hand, the gain of the multimode amplifier is improved through erbium-ytterbium co-doping; on the other hand, through specific distribution of the refractive index of the section of the optical fiber, the area of the mode spot is increased, the power filling factor in the mode group is reduced, the differential mode gain between the modes is obviously reduced under the cladding pumping structure, and the pumping conversion efficiency is improved.
Detailed Description
The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without any inventive step based on the embodiments of the present invention, are within the scope of the present invention.
Referring to fig. 1, the present invention provides an erbium-ytterbium co-doped multimode fiber amplifier, which sequentially includes a light source laser 1, a first mode multiplexer 2, a pump beam combining unit 3, an erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber 4, a cladding light stripper 5, and a second mode multiplexer 6 along an optical communication direction; the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber 4 comprises a core 41, an inner cladding 42 and an outer cladding 43 in sequence from inside to outside, erbium ions and ytterbium ions are co-doped in the core 41, the refractive index of the core 41 gradually increases from inside to outside along a section perpendicular to the axis of the core 41, and the refractive indexes of the inner cladding 42 and the outer cladding 43 are both smaller than the maximum value of the refractive index of the core 41. In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the refractive index of the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber 4 is M-shaped along the cross section perpendicular to the axis of the core 41, the refractive index of the core 41 is kept constant after increasing linearly from inside to outside, and the maximum refractive index values of the inner cladding 42 and the outer cladding 43 are both smaller than the maximum refractive index value of the core 41; the area of the mode spot can be increased through the optical fiber with the M-shaped refractive index profile, the power filling factor in the mode group is reduced, and the differential mode gain between the modes is obviously reduced under the cladding pumping structure. The components of the erbium-ytterbium co-doped multimode fiber amplifier of the present invention are described in detail below along the optical communication direction.
In this embodiment, the light source laser 1 adopts a wavelength division multiplexing light source in a C-band, and the output signal-to-noise ratio is greater than 50 dB, the power can be adaptively adjusted according to actual requirements, the power is stable, the adjustment range is wide, and the light source laser is used for generating original fundamental mode signal light.
Specifically, the first mode multiplexer 2 is provided with a plurality of input ports with different modes, and belongs to a device with multiple input ports and a single output port; the light source laser 1 outputs single-mode signal light, and the single-mode signal light is respectively injected into a plurality of input ports of the first mode multiplexer 2 and then converted into signal light of different modes, namely the first mode multiplexer 2 is used for converting the single-mode signal light of the light source laser 1 into a multi-mode signal; in this embodiment, the operating wavelength of the first mode multiplexer 2 is in the C + L band, and the received power is 1W, and in other embodiments, the adaptive adjustment may be performed according to actual requirements, which is not limited herein.
Specifically, the erbium-ytterbium co-doped few-mode fiber amplifier further includes a first few-mode isolator 7, an input end of the first few-mode isolator 7 is in communication connection with an output end of the first mode multiplexer 2, and an output end of the first few-mode isolator 7 is in communication connection with an input end of the pump combiner 33. The first few-mode isolator 7 has the function of eliminating Er amplified spontaneous radiation and Yb amplified spontaneous radiation generated when signal light and pump light enter the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber, so that the signal light can be protected; meanwhile, parasitic laser generated by Rayleigh scattering or oscillation of end surface reflection in the gain medium can be prevented, so that the deterioration of amplification performance is avoided, and the normal operation of the amplifier is ensured; in the present embodiment, the operating wavelength is in the C + L band, and the received power is 1W.
Specifically, the pump beam combining unit 3 includes a pump laser 31, a pump energy transmission fiber 32, and a pump beam combiner 33, where the pump laser 31 is in communication connection with the pump beam combiner 33 through the pump energy transmission fiber 32, so as to transmit pump light generated by the pump laser 31 to the pump beam combiner 33; the output end of the pumping beam combiner 33 is in communication connection with the input end of the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber 4; the signal light generated by the light source laser 1 and the pump light generated by the pump laser 31 are coupled through the pump combiner 33 and synchronously injected into the same erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber 4 for signal gain; the signal light generated by the light source laser 1 is injected into the core, and the pump light generated by the pump laser 31 is injected into the inner cladding 42 and the outer cladding 43.
Specifically, the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber 4 is of a double-clad structure, and on a cross section perpendicular to the axis of the fiber core, the inner cladding is preferably of an octagonal structure to form an irregular waveguide, so that the generation of bare fiber light is reduced, the probability of pump light entering the fiber core can be increased, and the absorption of the pump light is improved.
Specifically, an input port of the cladding light stripper 5 is communicatively connected to an output port of the erbium-ytterbium-doped fiber 4, and is configured to filter out pump light that is not completely absorbed by the erbium-ytterbium-doped fiber, and output gain light after signal gain; in this embodiment, the cladding light stripper 5 is formed by etching the outer cladding and then coating a high refractive index glue on the outer surface of the inner cladding, and preferably, the output end of the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber is processed by cutting at an angle of 6 to 10 °, so that the back light reflection at the break point is reduced.
Specifically, the erbium-ytterbium co-doped multimode fiber amplifier further comprises a second multimode-less isolator 8, an input end of the second multimode-less isolator 8 is in communication connection with an output end of the cladding light stripper 5, and an output end of the second multimode-less isolator 8 is in communication connection with an input end of the second mode multiplexer 6. The second few-mode isolator 8 has a similar function to the first few-mode isolator 7, and prevents parasitic laser generated by Rayleigh scattering or oscillation of end surface reflection in a gain medium back and forth, thereby avoiding the deterioration of amplification performance and ensuring the normal operation of the amplifier; in the present embodiment, the operating wavelength is in the C + L band, and the received power is 1W.
Specifically, the second mode multiplexer 6 is provided with a plurality of output ports with different modes, and belongs to a single-input-port-multi-output-port device; the gain light is transmitted to the second mode multiplexer 6 for mode demodulation, and demodulated signals of different modes are output from a plurality of output ports of the second mode multiplexer 6 after demodulation.
Further, the working mode of the erbium-ytterbium co-doped few-mode fiber amplifier is detailed as follows: firstly, a light source laser 1 outputs single-mode signal light, the single-mode signal light is respectively injected into a plurality of input ports of a first mode multiplexer 2, the first mode multiplexer 2 converts the single-mode signal light into signal light in different modes, the signal light passes through a first few-mode isolator 7, then is transmitted to a pumping beam combiner 33 together with pumping light generated by a pumping laser 31, is coupled through the pumping beam combiner 33, and is synchronously injected into the same erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber 4; then, by utilizing erbium-ytterbium co-doping and specific distribution setting of the section refractive index of the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber 4, the absorption of pump light is improved, the signal gain is obviously improved, the DMG is reduced, and the gain light is output; filtering out the pump light which is not completely absorbed by the erbium ytterbium co-doped fiber at a cladding light stripper 5, and outputting the gain light after signal gain; finally, the gain light passes through the second few-mode isolator 8 and then reaches the second mode multiplexer 6 for demodulation, and demodulation signals in different modes are output, so that the amplification of the initial signal light is completed.
The effects of the erbium-ytterbium co-doped few-mode fiber amplifier are characterized and analyzed through specific embodiments.
Example 1
In this embodiment, referring to fig. 2, the refractive index profile of the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber 4 is shown as M-type profile, where the cross-sectional structure of a corresponds to the refractive index profile of b, and the horizontal axis of b represents the lateral position and the vertical axis represents the refractive index of the corresponding position. Wherein, K n Representing the degree of the concavity of the refractive index of the fiber core, the greater Kn, the smaller the degree of concavity; k is r A fraction of the total core representing depressed regions; r core Represents the core radius; n is a radical of an alkyl radical 0 、n 1 Representing the highest point of the cladding index and the highest point of the core index, respectively.
Referring to FIG. 3, the diameter of the fixed fiber is 20 μm, K n And K r The number of the modes which can stably exist in the optical fiber is gradually reduced along with the deepening of the sunken degree and the enlargement of the sunken range by changing between 0 and 1; then preferred K n In the range of 0.7 to 0.9, K r The range of (2) is 0.3-0.6, and the number of modes which can stably exist in the range can reach more than 7, so that the mode balance is better.
Referring to FIG. 4, setting K n About 0.3, K r About 0.5, total input signal power of 4dBm, fiber length of 6m, gain spectrum in C-band for LP01, LP11, LP21, LP02, LP31, LP12, LP41, LP22, LP03 signal modes and DMG are shown in fig. 4. The gain curves of LP11, LP21, LP02, LP31, LP12 and LP41 are very close (solid curve in fig. 4), the large signal gain almost exceeds 20dB in the range of 1535-1565, and the gain level of the existing erbium-doped amplifier with few modes is generally less than 20dB, so that the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber amplifier has a better gain effect compared with the existing erbium-doped amplifier with few modes. At the same time, at 1535-1565 nmIn the range of (1) DMG (dashed curve in fig. 4), while the DMG of the prior erbium-doped amplifier with few modes is generally larger than 3 dB, which proves that the erbium-ytterbium co-doped fiber amplifier of the present invention has a lower DMG than the prior erbium-doped amplifier with few modes.
Different from the situation of the prior art, the erbium-ytterbium co-doped multimode fiber amplifier provided by the invention has the advantages that on one hand, the gain of the multimode amplifier is improved through erbium-ytterbium co-doping; on the other hand, through the specific distribution of the refractive index of the section of the optical fiber, the area of the mode spot is increased, the power filling factor in the mode group is reduced, the differential mode gain between modes is obviously reduced under the cladding pumping structure, and the pumping conversion efficiency is improved.
The above embodiments only express the embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is specific and detailed, but not to be understood as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.